Trials & Tribulations: Nemesis Awakened
by BackstreetFan
Summary: A young girl from the underworld is looking for Morpheus. When she finds him, she gets much more than she bargained for.....
1. Sensing Something More

***This is my first Matrix fanfic, so go easy on me, ok? It's taken me awhile to write a presentable fanfic. Suggestions are welcome. BTW, the only character I own in this is Nemesis. All the rest belong to Warner Bros. and the Wachowski's.***

Trials & Tribulations:

Nemesis Awakened

Chapter 1- Sensing Something More

It was a seedy, nameless spot. Hidden deep down in the recesses of the city, this was not the place where the upper crust of society was to be found. Drug dealers sold their stock openly. Prostitutes wandered through, hoping for some money to live on. And hackers. Loads of 'em.

Nemesis was one of the youngsters, but she ran right along with the rest of them. She worked behind the counter at the bar, and had a knack for memorizing what the customer's favorite drink was. Sometimes, she would sneak off an unconscious drug dealer some of their highest priced stock. Turning right around, she would manage to sell it to some half-crazed addict for three times what it was normally going for. Or else, if the user didn't have cash, there were other paybacks, such as information. The hackeress craved information.

At fifteen, she was able to command a lot of respect. When you command respect, people talk about you. Someone talks to someone, and then they talk to someone, and so on and so on. The information was passed through the levels and eventually made it up to the people who where the best. The best wanted her on their side.

A woman made her way to the bar one night. Nemesis had never seen her before _Really classy_, thought Nemesis._ Maybe I can charm her out of some of whatever she has._ "Drink tonight, miss?"

"No, thank you. I came here to talk to you," the woman said, leaning in closer.

"You got something I want, miss?"

"Yes."

Nemesis took the woman to the upstairs room where the owner let her sleep at night. They could be alone up here. "So what do you have?" she demanded as soon as the door shut.

"I know what you've been doing, Nemesis. I know what you've been looking for. I should say _who_ you've been looking for."

"So what else do you know about me besides my search?"

"I know the question you want to answer. You know the question, just as I did."

It took Nemesis a minute. "What is the matrix?"

"Morpheus can answer that," was all the woman gave as an answer."

"Morpheus??? He's here???" Nemesis said, barely keeping her voice down. She looked around, as if she was expecting him to pop out of the walls.

"No, he wants me to bring you to him."

"Now?"

"Yes, now."

"All right. I'll come."

*****

Nemesis was stuffed into the car unceremoniously by the woman. "Geez," she growled. "Watch it."

"Let's go, Smith," the woman ordered. The man in front complied, and the car went forward.

Nemesis looked out the window at the pouring rain and the blurred street outside as it flew past. _Smith. I'll have to remember that_. She glanced at the woman's reflection in the window. _And this lady, whoever she is, seems to be in charge. Another thing that could come in handy._ There was something in the woman's hand. Trying not to show too much interest, she turned and saw a gun aimed right at her. "What-?"

"It's protection."

"From who?"

"From you."

Nemesis raised her eyebrows slightly. "Me? I'm unarmed. How could I possibly be a threat to you?"

"You'll find out."

Nemesis leaned back. Things were getting even stranger. Something was going to happen, but what? One thing was for sure, running wasn't an option. The lady had a gun pointed at her, and no doubt this man Smith had one, too. She couldn't run, even if she wanted to.

"We're here," Smith called back to the woman from the driver's seat.

"Out of the car," the woman ordered in the same "I'm in charge" voice. Nemesis obeyed.

They entered an old building, and started to climb a seemingly endless set of stairs. They just kept spiraling up, and Nemesis was beginning to wonder where they ended. _And what will I find when they end? Will I like what I find?_ She was directed onto the 8th floor. _I guess I won't have long to find out._

Smith entered through a pair of doors near the end of a corridor. The woman moved ahead of Nemesis, stopping her before she could follow. _What now?_ "Piece of advice: be honest. Morpheus knows a lot more than you probably think he does," the woman cautioned.

She opened the door for Nemesis. There was an only a moments hesitation before Nemesis made a decision: she went in. Over by the window, there was a man. He was dressed in a leather trench coat that touched the floor. He turned. Nemesis's eyes widened as he turned around and she saw his face clearly. It was exactly like the pictures. _Morpheus._

"Welcome, Nemesis. You've probably guessed that I am Morpheus."

_No kidding!_ "Hello, sir," Nemesis said in her most respectful tone. She held out her hand. "It's a honor."

He shook it, smiling with that creepy smile. "No, the honor is mine. Please. Sit." Nemesis slid over into one of the beat up leather chairs as the woman passed by her into another door. Morpheus sat down opposite of her. "Things must seem a bit confusing right now."

"I guess you could say that, sir," Nemesis said, trying not to sound like it.

"I can see it. Do you know why you are here?" Morpheus asked her.

"Because I know about the matrix," Nemesis answered.

"Do you want to know what it is?"

"Tell me."

"The matrix is everywhere," he told her.

"Even here?"

"Even here. It is the world that blinds us from the truth."

"What truth?"

He smiled again. "You'll have to find out for yourself." Morpheus leaned forward, taking out a small metal box. He opened it, and held it out for Nemesis to see. Inside there were two pills: a red one and a blue one. "I want you to remember that your decision is final. You cannot turn back. If you take the blue pill, you'll wake up in your home and you can believe whatever you want to. If you take the red pill, I can show you how deep this all goes."

Nemesis didn't need to be told twice. She swallowed the red pill. "All right, now what?"

"Follow me." Nemesis complied, and followed Morpheus through the door.

It was a room cluttered in all sorts of machines that Nemesis had never seen before. Smith and the woman were there, along with a new man that Nemesis had not seen yet. In the middle of all this was a chair. Morpheus motioned her to sit, so she sat. The woman walked over and began hooking her up to what looked like a monitor.

"The pill you took is part of a tracer program," Morpheus explained. "It disrupts your input/output carrier signal so we can pinpoint your location."

"And that means...?"

"You're in for a wild ride, kid," the new man said. Nemesis, while she waited for whatever was going to happen, looked into the broken mirror that she had seen while she was coming in. Only now......it was no longer broken! She reached out and touched it. It rippled like water. When she pulled her hand back, some silvery goop stayed on her fingers. Nemesis stared at it in wonder. Suddenly, it started to surge up her arm. _Smart move!_

"It's going into replication!"

"It's cold."

"Neo, Smith, location?"

"Nothing!"

"It's cold!"

"Tank, we need a signal fast!"

"It hurts!"

"She's going into arrest!"

"Help me!"

"Locked!"

"Now, Tank!"

Nemesis vanished with a last scream.


	2. Feeling Alone

*** Here is chapter 2! I hope you enjoy it. Please review my story, I would really like to hear from you.***

Trials & Tribulations:

Nemesis Awakened

Chapter 2- Feeling Alone

_A reddish liquid surrounded me when I woke up, and I was attached to dozens of tubes. It didn't take long for me to figure out I was suffocating. I struggled upward through the red liquid and a disgusting film at the top. My hands pulled out the tube down my throat, and I took in deep breaths of air. It was frigid, but it was air._

My surroundings slowly sunk in. I will never forget the horror I felt. Thousands of rings circled endless columns. Each ring had many pods, like mine. They all contained a person. And no one was moving around, like me. Was I the only one awake in this strange world?

With no warning at all, the tubes that connected to my body snapped off one by one. There is no word in any language to describe the pain. All I can say is: it hurt. I screamed my head off. But no one could hear me. I was alone, and my fear increased. "Morpheus, why have you abandoned me?" I screamed to the endless abyss.

I was swept backward as the red liquid was sucked back into a large drainage pipe. I didn't have any strength, so I couldn't fight. My naked body traveled down with the tube. I was bumped against the walls, but it was nice to know that there was something solid underneath me. The feeling didn't last long. I fell through the air into water.

As soon I dropped down into the water, a giant metal hand dropped down from a white light that shown above. It grasped me and pulled me upward, towards that white light. Great, I thought, I'm getting pulled to heaven by a metal hand.

I was completely surrounded by the white light, and it blinded me momentarily. When it faded away, I noticed that I wasn't in heaven. I was in a room with metal walls. Morpheus.....the last person I remember seeing was Morpheus.

"Welcome to the real world," he whispered.

I smiled weakly as I slipped into unconsciousness. At least I wasn't alone.

*****

"She need a lot of work."

"I know, Jade. It looks like we can accomplish what we need to though, given the progress we've made so far." Morpheus looked down at Nemesis. Her eyes slowly slid open. She looked up at him. He smiled.

"Morpheus?" she said in a barely audible voice.

"I'm here," he replied, taking her hand.

"I'm not alone after all?"

"No. You're not alone, Nemesis. Go back to sleep. I'll be here." Nemesis fell back asleep. Morpheus looked over at Jade. "Let's get back to work."

*****

A week later. It was late at night, and Morpheus was taking the shift so Jade could get some rest. He was busy looking at Nemesis's vital signs display, and didn't see her wake up. His eyes opened and shut several times, trying to make the screen come into focus. _I'm tired._ His head started to sink down.....

"I can't move..."

Morpheus's head jerked up, and he relaxed when he saw that it was Nemesis. "Your muscles have atrophied because you haven't used them in 15 years," he explained. "We're rebuilding them."

"My eyes hurt like hell," Nemesis mumbled as she fell backwards into unconsciousness again.

"You've never used them before."

*****

Nemesis awoke in a different room. She was lying down on a small bed, in a tiny room. _My own room? My very own room? I have to be dreaming. There is no way that this can be real._ She had clothes on, different clothes than what she had been wearing...._when I fell asleep?_ _Well, I suppose dreaming of wearing warm clothes is better than dreaming of wearing nothing at all._

She slowly removed an IV that ran into one of the holes in her arm. _Can I stand?_ Nemesis slid her legs off the side of the bed as she sat up. Then she raised herself up, and let go of the bed. _All right. I can stand._ She took at few steps back and forth across the small room. _I can walk. Now what?_

There was a narrow metal door that led out to the rest of whatever this place was. Nemesis placed her hand on the metal handle to open the door and opened it. Morpheus was standing just outside. "Morpheus, what...where am I?" she managed to get out.

"More important than where is when."

"That makes no sense."

"You do believe it is the year 2000, right?" Morpheus asked her. Nemesis nodded, unsure of what to expect next. "It's actually closer to 2199." She leaned against the door frame, trying to take it all in. She couldn't. "There is nothing that I can say that will explain it to you. You need to see everything for yourself."

Nemesis stepped out into the hallway, following Morpheus as he walked towards a ladder. "This is the Nebuchanezzar. It's a hover craft," he told her. "The main deck is up here." He crawled up and Nemesis followed. She looked around the deck. It looked cluttered, but it was a kind of organized clutter. "This is the core," he said, gesturing to the several chairs that circled a whole bunch of computer screens and several keyboards. "We broadcast our signal here and hack into the matrix."

"Most of the crew, you already know," he said, looking up. Nemesis eyes looked up, too. Smith was there, perched on a cat walk. There were several other people grouped around the core. "This is Trinity and this is Neo."

_So that's what their names are!_ She looked back towards Morpheus.

"The ones you don't know are Tank," he said, introducing her to a young man, who smiled and shook her hand. "And the other is Jade." Jade was a young woman, probably about 25, with bright red hair and green eyes.

"You wanted to know what the matrix is?"

"Yes."

"Let me show you. Here, sit," he told her, pointing to the nearest chair. She sat down in the chair. Trinity snapped metal bands around her arms and her feet. Morpheus pressed her head to the back of the chair. "Try and relax. This could feel a little weird."

Something was pushed into her skull. And it hurt. Nemesis screamed. Tank punched a few buttons on one of the keyboards, and her face went slack.

Everything was white now. It was a strange, endless white, as if there were no walls, no ceiling, no floor. She was startled when she saw Morpheus walking towards her from out of nowhere, wearing clothes that were very different from the clothes that she had seen him wearing a minute ago. "So where am I now?" Nemesis asked.

"This is the construct, our loading program."

It took Nemesis a few seconds to process what he'd just told her. "You mean.....we're inside of a computer system?" she asked with some skepticism.

"Is it really so hard to believe? Your hair is different, your clothes are different, your shoes are different. Your hair has changed. The plugs in your arms and head are gone. What you see is your residual self image: the mental projection of your digital self."

Nemesis looked at Morpheus. Then she looked down at herself, felt the leather of her jacket with her fingertips. "It looks real to me," she told him, shrugging her shoulders.

"What is real? If real is what you see, what you feel, than "real" is just electrical signals interpreted by your brain," Morpheus said. Nemesis was getting more confused by the minute. "Come here," he told her. " I have something I want you to see."

Morpheus moved aside and Nemesis saw that two leather chairs and a beat up t.v. had appeared behind him, again from nowhere. She moved cautiously forward, and sat down in one. Morpheus sat down in the one to her left. He turned on the t.v. People walked by. Ordinary people, with ordinary clothes, living perfectly ordinary lives. They drove cars, worked jobs, and lived in what looked like a perfectly normal city. "Let me guess: this is the world I knew," she said mockingly. There was a tinge of sarcasm in her voice.

"You guessed right," Morpheus replied with all seriousness. "The world you knew at the end of the 20th century. It exists now only as part of a neural interactive that we know as the matrix." He turned off the t.v. and faced Nemesis. The look on her face was quickly looking even more confused and filled with disbelief. "You've been living in a dream world. This is the world as it exists today."

The familiar world that Nemesis saw on the screen disappeared, and was replaced with something vastly different. Ruins. All she saw were ruins of what looked like a once great city, now crumbling and as black as coal. The sky.....the sky was thick with black clouds. There was nothing living, not a single soul to be seen.

Nemesis was sucked through the screen. She was there, among the ruins, still sitting in the old leather chair. _This can't be real......It just can't._

"You're probably wondering what happened?" Morpheus guessed. Nemesis could only nod silently in reply. "At the end of the 20th century, we believed we had reached the pinnacle of science. We gave birth to A.I."

"Artificial Intelligence," Nemesis whispered, more to herself than to Morpheus.

"We were suddenly engaged in a fierce battle with the machines. No one is sure who took the first shot, but it was our side scorched the sky," Morpheus explained, pointing upwards.

"They were dependent on solar power, and we believed we would be cutting them off from their power supply. They found another."

_Oh no. Please don't show me....._

Nemesis worst fears came true. She was placed in the middle of the red pods. All of those people were trapped like she had been. They stretched on and on into what seemed like eternity. Millions, perhaps billions. Morpheus's voice droned on in the background. She did not listen. She could not hear. All she could hear was her own heart and mind screaming in disbelief.

"Nemesis?"

Nemesis was jolted back to the white walled construct. Morpheus placed a hand on Nemesis's shoulder, trying to calm the fearful face in front of him. He wished it didn't have to be this painful, but it was the only way. "I didn't say the truth would be easy. The truth is the truth, nothing more, nothing less."

*****

The real world reformed around them. Nemesis saw Trinity and Neo standing above her. She tried to hide her fear. She couldn't let them see her fear. In the world she had known, if you showed fear, you were ridiculed. They saw it anyway. 

Someone pulled the spike out from the socket in her head. She struggled to stay conscious. It was a battle she didn't win. Nemesis slumped down in the chair, embracing the darkness. _Just let me sleep. Maybe when I wake up I'll be back home._


	3. Accepting the Truth

Trials & Tribulations:

Nemesis Awakened

Chapter 3- Acceptance of the Truth

Nemesis opened her eyes. Metal walls, the small mattress, the cold, the _reality_, it was still there. It was still real. Her brain and heart slowly started to accept the inevitable. There was no going back. She was stuck in this world, brought down from the respected person to...a nobody.

A tear fell down her face, and then another. She was alone in her room. It was ok to cry now. Nemesis buried her face in her pillow sobbing, releasing her frustration and confusion. _It never happened. My entire life that I built never happened. It was fabricated by a machine. I was controlled by a machine!_

The door to her cabin was opened suddenly, and Nemesis jerked her head around to see who it was. It was that young man. _Tank. Isn't that what his name is?_

"Are you all right?" Tank asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

Bad idea. "No, I'm not all right!" Nemesis hissed, loosing it completely. "I've found out that I've spent my whole life being controlled by a machine! My life was nothing more than a computer simulation. I don't call that all right!"

Tank looked down. "It must be hard."

"Haven't you gone through this, too?" asked Nemesis, wiping away her tears.

"No," Tank said, shaking his head. He turned around so Nemesis could see the back of his head. There was no hole in the back of his head. "I was born here in the real world."

"On this ship?"

"No. I was born in Zion."

"Zion?"

"Zion is the last human city," Tank explained to a very confused Nemesis. He smiled. "You live long enough, you may even see it."

Nemesis gave a shaky smile. "Right now I'm trying to concentrate on just living. Seeing Zion isn't exactly a high priority right now. No offense."

"None taken." Tank got up and pulled the blanket over Nemesis. "Get back to sleep. You're going to need it."

"Why?"

"It's a surprise."

*****

For the most part it was a dreamless sleep for Nemesis. But every so often, she would find herself awake, wondering what Tank's surprise was. _Go back to sleep_, Nemesis ordered herself. _You'll find out soon enough._

"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty!" Tank called from the other side of the door. "We've got work to do."

"I'm coming!" Nemesis half yelled, half yawned as she got out of bed. She put on her boots, ran a hand through her hair (the little that was there), and walked out into the hallway.

Tank led her up to the main deck and the core. Nemesis sat down in one of the chairs, and Tank plugged her in. "All right," he said, taking his seat over by the keyboards. "Do you want to run through the operation programs first, they're major boring _shit_, or do you want to go through combat training?"

"Is this 'the surprise'?"

"No duh."

"Bring on the combat training!"

*****

"How long?"

Tank turned around to see Morpheus coming up from behind him. "10 hours, sir," he replied. "Honestly, I don't know where she keeps it all."

Morpheus didn't reply for a second. He looked at the computer screens. Nemesis had been able to keep up until now, but she was beginning to show signs of fatigue. Normally he would have gone in and tested her personally, but that seemed too much for one day. "Bring her back, Tank," he ordered, moving over beside Nemesis's chair.

Tank tapped a few keys, and Nemesis was yanked out of the construct. She was silent as Morpheus removed the metal bands and took the data spike out of her head. Nemesis sat up, rubbing a part of her arm that had been struck All of a sudden she realized what she was doing, and looked up at Morpheus. "If this isn't real, why does it hurt?"

"Your mind makes everything real," Morpheus explained. He gave Nemesis a hand up. She wobbled a minute before she was able to stand on her own. "Why don't you go to your room? We'll pick it up again tomorrow."

"Geez, how long was I in there?" she asked turning towards a smiling Tank.

"10 hours."

"I believe you," Nemesis said, giving him a tired smile. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

She went over and climbed down the ladder to the cabins. The location of her cabin was easy to memorize. It was the very last one, at the very back. She pushed the now familiar metal door open, and flopped down on the bed, sliding off her boots. It hit her that she hadn't cried once, hadn't once missed the world that she had come. She took a deep breath.

"Even if I had a choice, I wouldn't go back for anything."

Nemesis rolled over and fell asleep, wishing tomorrow would come faster.

*****

Morning (or the equivalent of it on the Neb) came, and Nemesis got out of bed. She looked around, making sure it wasn't a dream, that she wouldn't wake up back in the attic above the sleazy bar. She didn't. However, she did see a tray that had been set on the bench across from her bed. A small bowl containing a runny egg-like substance, a metal cup with water, and a small spoon were on it.

Realizing how hungry she was, Nemesis grabbed the bowl and spoon, and started eating the "runny eggs". _It's not the best stuff in the world, but it's edible._ She finished it in record time, then drank the water. She sat back, enjoying it a little. _I guess I'd better enjoy anything that seems remotely like a luxury. I'm not going to be seeing a whole lot of them._

Making her way up to the main deck, she found everyone grouped around the core. Morpheus was already plugged in. Tank, noticing her approach, motioned her to sit in the same chair she had been using. "You know the drill, Nemesis. Morpheus is going to meet you when you in there."

Sitting down, Nemesis barely felt the metal bands being secured. She didn't flinch as much when someone put the data spike into her head. She heard Tank tapping on the keyboard. Then she was sucked into the computer.

Nemesis found herself on the top of a small skyscraper. Morpheus was there, dressed in his usual black trench coat. "This is our jump program," he explained without any preamble. "It's designed to teach you to free your mind."

"Free my mind? Haven't we already done that?"

Morpheus smiled slightly. "No, not quite. Let me put it to you this way: the matrix is only a computer system. It has rules, and those rules can be bent and broken. Understand?"

"Yes."

Morpheus ran over and jumped off the roof towards another skyscraper. He landed safely, then turned to look back at Nemesis. She froze, a bit fearful. _What if I fall?_ It came to her that her fears were really stupid. _If it's not real, I can't hurt myself. Nemesis, get with it!_

Nemesis backed up slightly, crouching down and getting ready to jump........

*****

"She's going to make it," Tank said.

"Right," Neo said, sarcasm dripping all over his voice.

"She will. Just watch."

*****

Nemesis ran forward, jumping up into the air. There was nothing underneath her. _Just a little bit further...._her hands caught the edge of the roof. "Morpheus!" Nemesis called out. "Help!"

"You have to do this for yourself. I can't do it for you," Morpheus called back.

Nemesis fought tooth and nail to try and get up. She realized she was wasting energy, and let herself hang while trying to figure out how to get up. _Free my mind.....my mind! Can I use my mind to get up onto the roof? Only one way to find out......_

Nemesis blanked her mind, as she had done before she had jumped. Her mind focused on the roof. She threw herself up, and was surprised when she found herself suddenly standing across from Morpheus. He smiled.

*****

"I told you so," Tank said, turning around and facing Neo.

"She is good, I'll give her that," was all Neo would say. It was all he could say. No one had ever made their first jump before, at least no one that he knew. _I'm glad she is on our side._

*****

Nemesis next found herself on a street corner with Morpheus and a whole lot of other people. "Tell me what you see," Morpheus instructed.

"Doctors, nurses, sailors, lawyers......"

"Seemingly ordinary people, right?"

"Right."

The sign turned from _Don't Walk_ to _Walk._ Everyone crossed, including Morpheus. Nemesis had to walk incredibly fast to keep up. "All of these people are part of the Matrix," he explained. "Most can't be unplugged. They are too dependent on the system. So dependent, that they will fight to protect it at any cost."

Nemesis was half listening. A flash of red had caught her eye. She turned to see a young woman walking by. The woman had bright blonde hair and an equally bright red dress.

"Are you listening, Nemesis?"

"I'm-"

"Look again and tell me what you see."

There was a man in the place of the woman. He pulled out a gun, and aimed it straight at her face. "Freeze," Morpheus ordered the program. Everyone on the street froze, including this mystery man.

"Another simulation?" Nemesis guessed.

"The lesson is simple: if you are not with us, you are with them."

"And they are....?"

"Agents, sentient programs. They move in and out of any person still hardwired to the Matrix. Anyone who has not been unplugged is potentially an agent."

"I take it I shouldn't mess with them?"

"Every man and woman that has stood their ground against an agent has died...exept for one."

"_Definitely_ shouldn't mess with them." Nemesis looked at the agent's face for a moment, then turned back to Morpheus. "Who is the one that beat the agent?"

"Guess."

"Smith?"

Morpheus laughed. "No, it isn't Smith. Smith is a different story entirely."

"You?"

"No."

"Neo? It was Neo, right?"

"Right." Morpheus took a cell phone out of his hand and called a number. "Tank, get us out."

*****

Nemesis sat down in the Neb's galley to eat with the crew. It was the same "runny eggs" and water. She leaned back, sipping the water and looking around the room at her crew mates. She stopped at Smith. His face looked familiar.

_He looks like the agent I saw in the training program. But....if he is an agent......what the hell is he doing here?_ Nemesis set the cup down. _I'll have to find out._

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Nemesis was startled out of her reverie by Trinity. She looked up. "Huh?"

"Penny for your thoughts?"

"Oh, I was just wondering what this stuff was made of," Nemesis lied. "Looks like runny eggs to me."

"It's supposed to be made of 'good stuff': vitamins, minerals, the like," Jade said, entering the conversation.

"You think they would have made it taste better," Neo added.

"You'd be surprised what you can get used to," Smith commented, speaking up for the first time. "I know I was."

Nemesis took a bite and swallowed it. "It's better than some of the crap I.....remember tasting, and where I lived, I tasted some real crap."

"Well, this is much better than crap," Tank said, smiling and taking another bite.

The meal finished in relative quiet, and the crew dispersed to do work or to go to their quarters. Nemesis, exhausted from training, went back down under to her cabin for some sleep. She flopped down on the bed, too tired to pull off the boots, too tired to think about training, the matrix, the agents, or Smith. She just slept, waiting for morning so she could start over again.


	4. Opposite Sides

************************************************************************

Sorry if this sounds a bit sappy, but I wanted to develop the relationship between Smith and Nemesis.

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Trials & Tribulations:

Nemesis Awakened

Chapter 4- Opposite Sides

It was early. Nemesis could tell because the lights weren't on yet. Throwing off the blanket, Nemesis got up and stuck her head out into the hallway. She heard someone up on the main deck, so she headed up there. The person was in the galley.

Opening the door, Nemesis found Smith, just sitting down with breakfast. "Mind if I join you?" she asked.

Smith looked up, a bit surprised. "I don't mind," he said at last.

Nemesis got herself a bowl of the goop and at down next to him. She took a few bites, then looked up at him. "Just like mother used to make!" she joked cheerfully, smiling at Smith. Her face turned down slightly after a minute. Nemesis looked down at the table.

"You don't have a mother."

Nemesis looked up. "I know I have a mother. I just don't know who she is."

"I don't have a mother."

"Sure you do."

"Not where I come from."

Nemesis looked up, curiosity beginning to penetrate the serious look in her eyes. "Where do you come from, Smith?"

"I was.......created by the Matrix. Created to protect it."

"You're an _agent_?" Nemesis asked, completely blown away.

"Not anymore. That was a very long time ago."

Nemesis reflected on that. It did make sense. If was her enemy (and Morpheus's enemy, too), why was he still here? He would have attempted to kill the other crew members. Smith would have tried to kill her.

"Smith, I-," Nemesis began to say. She was cut off.....by an alarm.

"Follow me," Smith hollered above the alarm. He led her out of the galley, and up a ladder that was just past the core. The ladder led up to a very short corridor, and a small room. Morpheus was hunched over what looked like a control panel. "What's going on?"

"Sentinels are approaching."

"Sentinels?" Nemesis asked, looking from Smith to Morpheus.

She was ignored. "How long before they get here?"

"A minute, maybe a little bit more, but I don't want to press our luck," answered Morpheus, typing at lightning speed on a few buttons. A picture appeared on a screen, and Morpheus moved aside so that Nemesis could take a better look.

It was a weird looking thing. _I'd say it was a cross between a spider and an octopus._ "That's a sentinel?"

"Yes."

"What does it do?"

"It's designed to kill, search and destroy," Trinity said, coming up from behind the group. Neo was hot on her tail.

"How many are there?" Neo asked, joining in the conversation.

"Six." Morpheus turned away from the screen, and turned towards the ship's internal communications system. "How are we doing, Tank?" he called out.

"Shutting off power....now," Tank's voice said in reply. The lights were turned off, and the control boards went dead. All except for the communication system. "EMP is armed and ready, sir."

"Stand by."

Nemesis turned to Smith, whispering, "EMP?"

"Electro Magnetic Pulse," Smith explained. "It's the only thing that works against the sentinels."

"Quiet!" Morpheus hissed. Something was moving outside in the abyss. It came closer....and closer.....Nemesis could now see it's arms spreading out, taking readings of the hovercraft.

The machine surged forward towards the ship. "Now!" Morpheus hollered.

A weird blue field surrounded Nemesis. Everything was distorted. Twisting. It all started to fade away from view........

Smith caught Nemesis as she began to fall.

*****

"So what happened?" Smith asked Jade, looking down at his unconscious crew mate. Nemesis was stretched out on the infirmary's bed.

"She's extremely sensitive to the EMP. It happens to some of the newbies, they're just not used to that kind of exposure to electromagnetic waves. They usually get over it after one to two times."

"So she'll be all right?" _What's getting into you, Smith? Why are you feeling so concerned for this little girl?_

"Yes. Would you mind watching her for a while? I promised Morpheus that I would help him get the ship jump-started again as soon as I finished examining Nemesis."

Smith only nodded in response.

"Thanks. Let me know if anything comes up." With that, Jade vanished into the dark of the Neb, leaving Smith alone with Nemesis and his own thoughts for company.

_Why is she affecting me like this? I've never felt this close to anyone before. I've never been friends with anyone before. Agents don't have friends, they only associate with other programs within the system. But I'm not an agent anymore. I'm not entirely a human, either......._A groan brought Smith out of his silent debate and into the present.

"Nemesis?"

Nemesis blinked her eyes a few times and focused on the person in front of her. "Smith! What the hell happened? The sentinels started to attack the ship......"

"You passed out when the EMP was activated."

"Is everyone ok?"

"Yes."

"And how are you doing?"

"I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

Nemesis sat back and stared at the darkened ceiling of the infirmary, only lit by red emergency lights. Silence passed between them for a moment.

"I was afraid when I started to pass out. I thought you'd be hurt, Smith."

"Why are you so concerned about me?" he snapped.

"Because I consider you a friend."

Smith shook his head. "Agents don't have any friends."

"You're not an agent."

"Why are you so sure, Nemesis?"

Nemesis hesitated. This was totally against any of the beliefs that she had built up. _But those beliefs were from a previous life, _she reminded herself, _from a world that didn't exist. It's time to start over._ "Because to be human is to have a heart, and you have a heart." She put a hand on his chest for a moment, feeling his heart beating. "Like it or not."

Smith sat back, in slightly stunned silence, as Nemesis drifted back to sleep.

_Maybe I am human after all._

The thought didn't shock him at all, he admitted silently to himself. It was actually a comforting feeling. Smith smiled slightly as he dozed off, too. Things were definitely going to be different, now that he had a friend.


	5. Freedom For Nike

Trials & Tribulations:

Nemesis Awakened

Chapter 5: Freedom for Nike

It had been one week since the sentinel attack. Morpheus looked over at Nemesis, as she ate breakfast in silence. The girl had advanced by leaps and bounds since she had been unplugged. She had completed a good portion of the training programs. She seemed to accept the reality around her. _Perhaps it is time for a test......_

The crew started to clear out of the galley, moving on to their daily duties. Morpheus waited until Nemesis was about to pass him, then he stopped her. "Nemesis, will you come up to the bridge for a moment?"

"Yes, sir." She followed Morpheus up to the bridge, and sat down in the co-pilot chair. "What is this all about, Morpheus?"

"Nemesis, I belive the training programs can only teach you so much," Morpheus told her. "It's time you started to learn your own lessons."

Nemesis leaned back in the chair, half excited, half suspicious. "What excatly did you have in mind?"

"I think you should start looking for a new crew member. You will be in charge of their training, too, once you have sucsessfully unplugged them. I'll help you if you get stuck, but that's all."

"You're serious?"

"I'm serious. You can start today."

*****

Nemesis slowly threaded her way through Zion's files on all potentials in the Matrix. She copied and put all the ones that looked good on a spare disk that Tank had rummaged up for her. She was looking for a girl like her. Same age. Born into the same world. Having Smith around to talk to was ok, but......he was a guy......and there was an age barrier, too.

She yawned, then pulled up the clock. _Holy shit! Midnight all ready? Wow. All right, all right, one more potential and I'll go to bed. _Nemesis pulled up the next file. _Nike._

*****

The crew found Nemesis slumped over the next morning. Neo reached over and pulled her up. "All right, Sleeping Beauty, nap time is over."

"Hmm? Oh, hey guys!" Nemesis leaned forward, reactivating the computer. "I found something, Morpheus."

"Something?" Morpheus asked, closing the distance between him and Nemesis. "Already?"

"Yes." Nemesis's hands flew over the keyboard. "Meet Nike."

Morpheus scanned over the info, then looked directly into Nemesis's eyes. "Are you sure? This is the person that you want to place everything on?"

Nemesis leaned back in the chair. Her blue eyes scanned the faces of the crew. "I think Nike is our best option." She turned her attention back to Morpheus. "Sir, I've torn that file to shreds. I can't find any info on where she lives, and I've tried every trick that I know."

"I'll discuss that with you later," Morpheus said, smiling and placing a hand on her shoulder. "How about something to eat and some sleep? You look like you could use it."

"Yeah, I could always do with another bowl of goop," Nemesis said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Awww, you sound like you don't like it!" Tank said. His face turned downward. "And I made a batch especially for you!"

"Well......I guess I could learn to live with it........"

The crew started to drift towards the galley. Trinity looked over at Smith. "_Two _teenage girls? That's going to be a real challenge."

Smith gave Trinity a small smile. "If I can survive being human, I can survive living with teenagers."

Trin gave him a good-natured punch on the arm, then followed the rest of the crew in.

*****

Approximately six hour later.

Morpheus and Nemesis were at the bridge, talking over the girl's plans to free Nike. "I'd like to follow her around a little," Nemesis explained. "You know, watch her. See how she acts. But I can't do that without her location."

"I know where she is."

"Where?"

"She's staying with the Oracle."

"The Oracle? The Oracle.....is this the Oracle that made the prophecy about Neo?"

"The very same."

"So when can we go see her?"

Morpheus gave her a hard look. "You're really up to this right now?" Nemesis unsuccessfully tried to stiffle a yawn in response. Morpheus's face lightened, and he smiled. "No, not today. In 24 hours, I'll expect you to be ready. Make the most of it."

*****

24 hours had passed. In that time, Nemesis had slept, grabbed some small bites to eat, and trained her butt off in the construct. She had Tank put her through every possible scenario. She wanted to be ready.

And she was ready.

The matrix formed around her. Pausing for a moment, she looked down at herself. Nemesis was no longer dressed in her street garb. It was a sleek leather outfit. But she still had on her scuffed boots . Her "combat boots" she called them. The weight of the guns (and a knife wedged in her boot) was almost comforting. _I'm ready......_Nemesis thought, following the others out of the old hotel room and into the street.

*****

Nike's fierce green eyes looked up from a book she was reading to lock with Nemesis's cool blue ones. She tried not to look suspicious as she watched the stranger move over and sit beside her on the couch. "So who are you?" Nike asked, turning back to her book.

"My name is Nemesis, Nike. I work with Morpheus."

Nike dropped her book, a look of suprise on her face. "Morpheus? He's here??"

"You're going to be seeing him in a little while. But for now he wants us to talk."

"About what?"

Nemesis smiled to herself. "Ever heard of the Matrix?"

"So you know about it, too?"

"Yes."

"Can you tell me what it is?"

"No.

"Why not?"

"It's something you need to see for yourself. Neither Morpheus nor I can show it to you. It's you who have to take that first step."

"Well, can you point me in the right direction?"

"That I can do, Nike. That I can do."

Nemesis led Nike out of the Oracle's apartment.

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This is THE END of _Nemesis Awakened._ I do plan to continue with sequels to this story, so stay tuned! (BTW, Nike is named after the Greek godess of victory, not the athletic wear company.)

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